"This mountain is huge, beyond our imagination. I’m not sure how long it will take to search for my sword," Draven said, feeling conflicted about whether it was a good idea to go after the sword instead of going to his mate.
"Draven, it’s your sword—bound to your soul," Evanthe commented. "It will pull you toward itself on its own. And don’t worry about Ember. We already know they can’t harm her."
"She’s right, Draven," Morpheus added. "And I give you my word—I will protect her, even at the cost of my life. She won’t be harmed."
Drayce and Arlan looked at him, offering him assuring gazes. "We are here to protect your mate as well."
Finally, Draven agreed and heard Evanthe say, "You are a powerful beast—and once a God of War. You will find your way. Just let your instincts guide you."
Draven hummed and disappeared from there. Since he was going to find the sword anyway, he wouldn’t waste a moment and would return to his mate quickly.
"Arlan, you have to stay with Oriana," Evanthe suggested. "Her power of darkness has weakened, and she won’t be able to recover it so soon in the Heaven realm. Leaving her here alone means putting her in danger."
Arlan looked in the direction of the cave where Oriana was resting.
"Heaven realm doesn’t consider her as friend. If she is found, they would harm her. At this moment, she is weak to fight against the gods," Drayce added as he placed a hand on his shoulder. "The first responsibility of the beast is to protect his own mate. Stay with her."
Arlan nodded. He couldn’t let his mate be unprotected. "Then be careful. With those relics from the Heaven realm, you should be able to hide without much effort. Lord Valeron said there are angels guarding around this mountain as well."
"We’ll keep that in mind," Evanthe assured.
Arlan watched as Drayce, Morpheus, and Evanthe left. He returned to the cave, where Oriana had almost dozed off inside the warm cover.
Sensing his presence, she opened her eyes and asked in a weak voice, "Why are you back?"
"I’m staying with you," he replied and went to her.
"You should help them."
"Not at the cost of leaving you here alone," he said, sitting close to her, careful not to disturb Snowflake, who had enveloped Oriana. "Close your eyes and rest. If you regain more strength, then we can go help them."
Oriana understood she was not of any help at the moment and decided to obey Arlan.
After a few moments, she asked, "Arlan, do you find something familiar about this mountain? The divine energy here feels like a part of me."
Arlan hummed and said, "I feel the same. Maybe it’s because your mother was created from the wind energy of this mountain, and she possesses the divine power from here, which is the same inside both of us. You inherited it directly from your mother, while I got it from the golden lotus she created with her own divine power and preserved the Dragon’s soul inside it. That’s how I have both dark and divine energy—just like you."
Oriana agreed. "Then I shall focus on cultivating my divine power while I rest. The divine energy here is contradicting my darkness and won’t let it heal cultivate faster," she said and closed her eyes once more.
Arlan made sure she was not disturbed by anything. He even blocked the entrance of the cave by creating an invisible barrier with his powers so no one could enter it.
Drayce, Morpheus, and Evanthe left the mountain boundary, hiding themselves well from the few angels guarding the side of the mountain that led toward the main part of the Heaven realm—where the deities resided.
They could still feel the vibrations coming from the Demon realm and saw those angels looking visibly worried, even speaking among themselves.
"These Demons would never keep quiet, even after their princess sacrificed herself to protect them," one angel said. "All the deities have headed there."
"I heard their princess is back, and she’s trying to break the shield she had built. She’s the one to blame."
"Will she attack the Heaven realm? Is she as powerful as before?"
"That shield is made from her own powers. If it breaks, the power in the shield will return to her, and inevitably, she’ll become powerful like before."
"What are we going to do then? We don’t have a God of War to fight her."
The other two agreed as they proceeded with the caution.
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